Archive for the 'Deals & Offers' Category
Online stock brokerage firm TradeKing has a new $50 sign-up bonus for new accounts. To qualify, you must open with at least $2,500, not take it out for 6 months, as also make one trade.
There is no referral required, just be sure you see the $50 offer from the link. Expires 10/31/08. Selected fine print:
1) To qualify for this offer, new accounts must be opened and funded with $2,500 or more. Account opening and funding must occur within 30 days from the date this email was sent, and one trade must be executed within 180 days of account opening. […] A minimum balance of $2,500 is required in the account (minus any trading losses) for the first six months or the credit may be surrendered. Offer applies to new non retirement accounts funding for the first time.
Background - Why pay more?
TradeKing is a discount brokerage with $4.95 trades and $0.65 option contracts. They have good customer service, with both Live Chat and phone reps with short hold times available. Won SmartMoney Magazine’s Best Discount Broker award in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
They are one of my three favorite discount brokers. To sum things up very briefly, they are between Zecco (cheaper, less refined) and Scottrade (more expensive, but has local physical branches). I don’t see any reason to be paying $10+ for a trade, given these three options.
For more information and tips on TradeKing, please check out my TradeKing Review. I have an account with them, so you can also ask questions in the comments.
Posted in Deals & Offers, Investing | 16 Comments »
I went ahead today and bought some more of the 12-month CD at 5% APY from Washington Mutual/Chase. Here’s why:
Reason #1: Chase agreed to honor WaMu CD rates
From the official FDIC WaMu takeover page:
6. Will I continue to earn interest at the same rate?
JPMorgan Chase accepted Washington Mutual’s interest bearing accounts including CD’s at the contract rate; therefore, they are not waiving early withdrawal penalties.
Even though there was speculation that Chase would only pay interest up to the failure date as was the minimum requirement, Chase went as far as to not even allow early withdrawals without penalty. They have committed to honoring these rates, which also worked out great for those that jumped on it last month.
Reason #2: They are still offering the 5% APY 12-month CD
A week later, the same high rate is still on their website:
This can’t have been an accident. 13-month CD is available too.
Reason #3: It’s FDIC-insured, now with a more stable bank
For those that worried about WaMu service interruption or lost liquidity (which never happened) , now it should be even more stable with Chase Bank.
Reason #4: It’s still a top rate, and it might change at any time.
Maybe there is some sort of behind-the-scenes rate freeze agreement that we don’t know about. Their popular Online Savings + Free Checking combo is still paying 4.00% APY on savings and the checking perks haven’t changed (WaMu review). Savings accounts at any bank are always subject to change, so there is nothing I can do about that. But I can sure lock in this rate now and keep my system going as long as possible:
Reason #5: Fed may drop interest rates soon
Bailout plan or not, this economy ain’t doing so well. Although I don’t make big bets on such forecasts, there is a good possibility that Fed will lower interest rates by the end of the year (see USA Today, WSJ).
If your funding source is not WaMu, they let you fund electronically with another bank’s routing and account number. You have to remember to verify the test deposits, though.
Posted in Banking, Deals & Offers | 21 Comments »
Equifax is currently running a campaign that is giving out your FICO credit score for free based on your Equifax credit report. There is no credit card or free trial subscription required, so you don’t have to cancel anything. Only available to the first 10,000 responders, so go try it now! If you’ve used Equifax before, you should just sign in because they will make you sign in again anyways once getting your information.
The free score comes with some general information about your credit history (see mine below), but to get more specific information you’ll have to purchase your credit report and analysis.
I see my score of 754 is only better than 62% of US consumers. Given that I am making interest off of 0% APR credit card debt, I am pretty happy with the results. 
Posted in Deals & Offers | 50 Comments »
About as straightforward as it gets: SchickSamples.com.
Thanks YP, I missed this one.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 9 Comments »
Here is another offer for a free Schick Intuition Plus razor (now expired), targeted at the ladies (though I don’t see why a guy can’t use it). First 70,000, so enter today. Via SD. We’ve gotten one of these free before, and Mrs. MMB reports that this is a very nice razor.
Enter the Countdown to Wedding Bliss Giveaway, brought to you by iVillage and Schick® Intuition®, and get on the road to your happily-ever-after. Be among the first 70,000 iVillage members to respond and you can get a *FREE Schick® Intuition Plus® razor. Make it a beautiful beginning–enter today!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open only to legal U.S. residents who are 18 or older. Limit one Schick razor per person, per household of the physical address above. Offer expires 12/31/2008 or while supplies last.
I just got another two free razors in the mail within the last week, so many of them definitely do come through.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 7 Comments »
Apparently Zecco.com, a start-up brokerage where I keep most of my “play money”, didn’t do so well during the last week. People report having problems logging into their accounts due to all the market turbulence. I was luckily not affected, as I haven’t had time to trade much at all.
In response, they are offering unlimited free trades (both stock and options) for the entire month of October to all customers and all accounts. Also, the $2,500 minimum for free trades is being waived. From a recent announcement:
To show our appreciation for your loyalty, we have decided to make October a 100% unlimited free trading month. This means that between October 1st and October 31st you can make unlimited equity and options trades commission-free. As far as I know, this has never been done in the history of the brokerage industry, until now. But then again, we are seeing things in the market we never would have believed, until now.
Eligibility
* The no-commission stock and options trade offer applies to all Zecco Trading accounts in good standing.
* The offer applies to equity and options trades, including multi-legged options orders and all options contracts.
* Mutual fund trades are not eligible for the offer.
* There is no minimum equity balance requirement or minimum trade volume restriction.
* All account types are eligible, including IRA.
* The offer is effective for equity and option trades placed and executed 10/1/08 through 10/31/08. The standard free trading program and options pricing will resume 11/1/08.
What are some good ways to take advantage of this offer? Maybe time to do some tax-loss harvesting? I suppose active traders and daytraders should be happy and go nuts. Since their normal offer is to give you 10 free trades per month, I usually consider Zecco best for buy-and-hold investors to buy shares of ETFs regularly and cheaply. Now I guess you could dollar-cost-average every day.
The free options trading do sound interesting, as they used to cost $4.50 + $.50/contract. You never see free options trading. Maybe it’s time to try some test trades out? It would be interesting to learn to create proper hedges.
As an aside, I recently moved all of my cash out of my Zecco account since I wasn’t trading (no free time) and wanted to earn more interest elsewhere. However, they then de-activated my account. It wasn’t closed permanently and a phone call got it open again, but just an FYI if you experience weird things. You can read about my previous experiences with Zecco here.
Posted in Deals & Offers, Investing | 14 Comments »
Citibank
You get a $100 bonus when you open an eligible Citi checking account with $1,000 and complete one direct deposit or repeated billpay usage. New customers only. Seems also to be for Citi credit card holders only.
Within the first month after account opening, customer must complete at least one direct deposit to, or at least two electronic bill payments from, the checking account each month for three consecutive months to get $100.
Bank of the West
This regional bank (west/midwest US) is offering a $100 bonus for doing a variety of activities: $25 for opening the account with a debit card, $25 for using it 10 times, $25 for direct deposit, and $25 for billpay. Must be opened in a physical branch.
Offer valid for a new personal checking account opened from September 8 through November 1, 2008 with $100 or more from a financial institution other than Bank of the West.
Provident Bank
Another regional bank (east/northeast US) offering a $100 bonus for opening a checking account with $25 minimum.
Provident Bank will award $100 to new personal checking customers that open a new Totally Free, Regular, Interest or Platinum checking account between 9/2/08 and 11/21/08 that have direct deposit and a Provident MasterMoney™ debit card by 12/31/08.
Wells Fargo
You get a $50 bonus when you open a Wells Fargo Free Checking Account with $100. No minimum balance, no monthly fees.
Limit one $50 bonus per household. To qualify for your $50 bonus, you must open and fund a new personal Wells Fargo checking account with a minimum initial deposit of $100 (not including the $50 bonus) by October 17, 2008.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 9 Comments »
Washington Mutual has raised the rate on their Online Savings + Free Checking combo to 4.0% APY. This is now the highest of the no-minimum no-fee savings accounts. Curiously, HSBC Direct actually dropped their rate to 3.25% APY earlier this week.
You can learn more about this account at my WaMu review post. They also again have 12-month CDs yielding 5% APY.
I’ve already laid out why I am sticking with Washington Mutual. In short, why would I mess with this nice setup as long as my money is still insured?
[Some pages still say 3.75%, but my account details confirm the 4.0% APY. Existing account holders can log in and click on “About this account”. Or just click here and hit Apply Today, and you should see the new rate.]
Posted in Banking, Deals & Offers | 56 Comments »
Through October 31st, the standard Scottrade referral promotion is now worth 7 free trades (instead of the usual 3) when you open an account with at least $500. At $7 per trade, that’s worth nearly $50. If you need a referral code, please contact me and I’ll send you one from another reader.
Both referrer and referee will receive 3 free online trades when the referee opens a qualified account with Scottrade. These free trades will usually be credited within 24 hours. An additional 4 free online trades will be credited to both accounts within 15 business days.
Referrals must be made and the new account must be opened by the new referee by the end of business day on October 31, 2008 in order for both accounts to receive the bonus 4 free online trades.
Related
Posted in Deals & Offers | 5 Comments »
Costco Junkies: The Costco TrueEarnings American Express card is now offering $25 bonus after your first purchase. This is a good all-around cashback card, offering:
- 3% cash back on gasoline (any, including Costco gas)
- 3% cash back at all restaurants
- 2% cash back on travel (airline, lodging, car rental, cruise line, travel agency and tour operators)
- 1% cash back on everything else, including Costco
There is no limit on cashback you can earn, and no annual fee with your Costco membership. It also doubles as your membership card, preserving some of that precious wallet space.
Business Version
If you have a business, or I guess a Costco Business membership, you should get the Business TrueEarnings American Express card because it offers a higher 5% back on gas in addition the same 3% on restaurants, 2% on travel, and 1% on everything else. No $25 bonus, though. For individuals, leave the “Business Tax ID” space blank and just use your Social Security number, and they will treat you as a sole proprietorship.
[Also related: My overall favorite cashback/rewards cards]
NYC Commuters: Chase Bank is offering up to $50 back towards your commuting costs when you use your Chase debit card to make the purchase:
Pay for your MetroCard® , Train and NYC Yellow Cab rides with your Chase Debit Card. Get a $10 Cash Reward (up to $50) for every $150 in qualifying purchases this September 1 to October 31, 2008.*
Credit Score Watchers: This is a follow-up to my popular post on Five Ways To Get Your Free Credit Score … With No Trials!. One of the options, CreditKarma, has re-scaled their proprietary credit score to be in the 300-850 range, matching that of the “official” FICO-branded score. Their score is based on your TransUnion credit report, so it should now be easier to understand.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 16 Comments »
One of my long-time favorite credit cards, especially for those that like to travel, is the highly flexible American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card. Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) was originally a good hotel rewards program, but got even more popular because you could also transfer the points to a variety of frequent flier programs as well as things like Amazon.com gift certificates.
Today, they announced a new redemption option - any flight with no restrictions or blackout dates. Essentially, you can buy any ticket available on a site like Expedia using points. For example, a flight costing up to $150 with SPG can be bought with 10,000 points. This is a transfer rate of up to 1.5 cents per point. While I still like “topping off” my frequent flier miles to grab awards tickets, this is nice to have if you need to book a flight quickly and/or directly. Thanks to reader Eric for the tip. Here is the exchange chart:
| Ticket Price |
Starpoints |
| up to $150 |
10,000 |
| $150-$215 |
15,000 |
| $215-$280 |
20,000 |
| $280-$345 |
25,000 |
| $345-$410 |
30,000 |
| $410-$475 |
35,000 |
| $475-$540 |
40,000 |
| $540-$605 |
45,000 |
| $605-$670 |
50,000 |
| (continues on) |
|
And unlike frequent flier awards, you also get to earn frequent flier miles for the trip!
Rack Up Some Starpoints
Right now, if you apply for a Starwood American Express card, you will get 10,000 free points after your first purchase, which is good for a $150 ticket or a $100 Amazon gift certificate. You can get an additional 15,000 points by spending $15,000 on the card within the first 6 months. That’s a potential total of 25,000 points, which can now be redeemed for any airline ticket priced up to $345.
The annual fee is waived for the first year, $45 afterwards. Cancel within first year if you just want the bonus points. There is also the Business Starwood American Express Card, which is offering an additional 10,000 Starpoints after first purchase.
Finally, now that you are familiar with it, you can earn 250 Starpoints by taking this short survey about the new feature.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 7 Comments »
Enjoy free general admission for you and a guest to hundreds of museums and cultural venues nationwide on Saturday, September 27, 2008. This is a month from now, so mark your calendars if interested. Thanks to Julie.
The following Museum Day restrictions apply: One time use on September 27, 2008 unless otherwise specified. Card must be presented for free general admission. Admission Card will be collected upon entry. General admission only. Does not include entry to special exhibits or IMAX screenings. Admission Card is good for general admission for you plus one guest. One Admission Card per household. Not for use with any other offer. No rain checks. Some participating museums may already have a free admission policy year round and are participating in the “spirit” of the day.
You have to fill out a form to get an admission card. Find a participating museum here.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 3 Comments »
WaMu has rolled out a new 5% APY 12-month CD, which is a very high yield for that term length. Yes, WaMu has had some issues like other banks, but I’ve already explained why I am sticking with them as long as I’m under the FDIC insurance limits.
Convenience Factor
If you already bank at WaMu, you can fund it easily online with a minimum of $1,000. With their existing Free Checking and 3.75% APY Online Savings combo, it makes a convenient package:
Early withdrawal penalty is 90 days interest. You can fund directly from your existing accounts. I might move some money around for this one.
Combine with 0% APR Balance Transfers
For those that are interested in making some profit using 0% balance transfers, but have been holding off due to the narrowing interest rate spreads, this might be an opportunity to jump back in. You can get 0% APR for 12 months with a $75 fee from the Discover More card.
There is also 0% APR for 12 months + $100 Bonus from the Discover Business Card if you want to go that route. Details here.
Borrowing the money at 0% and putting it in 5% CD for 12 months gives the following rough math: Gain of 5% interest on $12,000 = $600. Minus $75 fee and taxes to get your final profit. You can do better if you get a larger credit limit. If you can handle the minimum payments of 2% of balance per month ($200 initially each $10,000) with your regular cashflow, then you could stick the entire amount in the CD. The actual terms say that the introductory period lasts “until the last day of the billing period ending during September 2009″.
Posted in Banking, Deals & Offers | 47 Comments »
An extension of the new Live.com Search Engine cashback system mentioned previously, it has been discussed ad nauseam here, here, and here. At first glance, I thought it would be a short-lived misprint/typo kind of deal, so I didn’t bother. It did disappear, but now it is back, so I guess Live.com is consciously choosing to continue with this promotion (for now).
In short, the cashback system is currently offering 25% off any item purchased on eBay, provided it is bought using the “Buy It Now” feature and using PayPal for payment. There is a limit to $200 in cashback per purchase, with a maximum of 6 purchases. Fine print is here. A quick and dirty walkthrough:
1. First read up on the general idea of Live.com cashback. You’ll need to wait 60 days to withdraw the cashback. If interested, sign up for an account.
2. Click on this link, this link, or this link. Look for the following:
3. Click on the circled link, which will send you to eBay. Find an item that you want with the Buy It Now option and that accepts PayPal. Click on “Buy It Now”. You should see this icon on the next screen:
4. Check out and pay with PayPal. You should get an e-mail or message from eBay with confirmation afterwards.
Clever people have been buying highly liquid items like gold, silver, and popular gift cards at 25% off. However, supply and demand has driven many prices up, making it harder to find profitable opportunities. Isn’t economics neat?
Posted in Deals & Offers | 26 Comments »
Online broker TradeKing.com has a new $50 sign-up bonus for new accounts as part of celebrating National Friendship Day. If you get a referral from an existing account holder, fund it with at least $1,000, and make a trade, both people will get $50. This is the best promotion from TradeKing in several months.
New qualifying account must be opened within the dates of 7-31-08 to 8-28-08. New referred client must fund their account with a minimum of $1,000 within 30 days of opening the new account. New referred client must also execute at least one trade in the new account within 180 days of the account opening. The minimum funds of $1,000 must remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of 180 days or the credit may be surrendered.
I have an account, so if you’d like a referral just contact me, and I’ll be happy to send you one. I only need your e-mail address. For more information on TradeKing, please check out my TradeKing Review.
Update: This offer has expired as of 8/28/08. Sorry!
Posted in Deals & Offers, Investing | 3 Comments »
